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Off-Duty L.A. Officer Jailed After Suspected DUI Crash Kills Family

An off-duty Los Angeles police officer is facing felony charges following a suspected DUI crash Tuesday night that authorities said killed a family of three.

Edgar Verduzco, 26, is accused of driving “at a high rate of speed” along Interstate 605 Freeway when his car collided with a vehicle carrying a mother, father and teenage son about 10:30 p.m., KTLA reported, citing the California Highway Patrol.

After colliding with the family’s vehicle, causing it to burst into flames and trap the three people inside, Verduzco’s car struck a second vehicle, causing minor injuries to the 31-year-old driver.

A vehicle carrying a family of three on a Los Angeles freeway caught on fire after a collision with an off-duty officer's vehicle, authorities said. (OnsceneTV)

The names of the three family members had been released as of Wednesday afternoon.

At a Wednesday afternoon new conference, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck expressed heartbreak and fury over what happened.

“I cannot tell you how angry and disappointed I am that a Los Angeles police officer would disregard the law and cause such an accident with such awful, awful consequences,” Beck said. “As soon as I heard that a family of three had been killed in a horrific accident, my heart went out to the family and their friends.”

Beck identified Verduzco as a two-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department who had served in the Army for four years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.